


Five Times Smiled

by chasingvictoryx



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: F/M, bc ruby would love dolly parton and no one can convince me otherwise, chapters are all dolly parton song titles, cute fluffy drabbles, literally just a lotta cuteness and fluff for my favorite under-rated ship, rusim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 13:12:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19830937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasingvictoryx/pseuds/chasingvictoryx
Summary: Five different times Aasim has made Ruby smile.





	1. Everyday Hero

**Author's Note:**

> This was a Tumblr prompt I wrote for a friend and I wanted to share it here, too. I wrote it back on March 29th 2019, originally, and have touched it up a little since then, but I'm not perfect so there may be a few spelling or grammatical errors that slipped through the cracks!
> 
> There honestly aren't enough Rusim fanfics out there, much less ones in Ruby's POV so here's this to make up for it.
> 
> Anyway, I'm actually super proud of these, and I hope that you all enjoy them!

The first time Ruby sees Aasim, he’s trying, (and failing spectacularly) at getting his glasses back from some bullies.

They’re only five years old, and already it seems that the two of them are different enough that others feel the need to point it out to them – rather cruelly at that.

Ruby’s entire being seems to be enough to warrant teasing, and she can handle the kids who try to torment her, but it’s something else entirely to witness it happening to someone else.

So, without giving it a second thought, and hands balled up into fists, Ruby stalks towards them.

“Hey!” she yells, gaining the attention of Aasim, the bully holding Aasim’s glasses up, just out of his reach, and the lackeys around him who seem to only egg their leader on.

The look of surprise from the bullies quickly turn into sneers as Ruby approaches, more than enough to tell her that they don’t take her seriously. The snort in response only cements this realization, and only proceeds to irritate Ruby more.

“Get outta here, Pipsqueak. This don’t concern you!” the bully scoffs, more than content in ignoring her afterwards, though Ruby isn’t having that.

Shortly after the command leaves the bigger kid’s lips, Ruby can feel a fire igniting inside of her, face screwing up in annoyance, and her fists tightening. Her rosy cheeks burn just a little brighter as she barks right back at him, “Give ‘em his glasses back!”

Unsurprisingly, the other kid doesn’t listen, only getting angrier. Ruby watches as his face screws up, the lackeys unable to mask their surprise at seeing Ruby standing up to their leader. Ruby’s able to ignore their staring, but feeling Aasim’s gaze on her is something she swears she can feel boring into her skin. Before she can think to look over at him, the bully draws closer to her and she glares daggers into him.

“Or what?” he snarls, catching Ruby off guard as she feels his free hand roughly collide with her shoulder. It makes her stumble, and his pissant friends start to snicker. “What’re you gonna–AGH–!”

Ruby’s fist collides with his stomach as hard as she can manage. She watches as he hunches over, having the wind knocked out of him.

He gasps, eyes wide in shock.

 _“You little–!”_ He makes an attempt to lunge at her, but misses as Ruby rears back a foot to swing one final blow right between the bully’s legs, successfully making him drop to the ground.

She turns towards the other kids with a fire in her eyes, and that’s all it takes for them to run away with their tails between their legs. It’s not the most glorious win, but Ruby’ll take it.

Ruby snatches the glasses out of the boy’s grasp, turning her nose up at him as she moves towards Aasim. Her expression softens a little then.

“Here,” she says, holding them out for Aasim to take.

It takes Aasim a little longer than necessary to take them, still unable to believe what just happened, despite the whimpering he hears from the older kid who’s still in a fetal position on the ground. He almost wants to pinch himself to see if he’s actually dreaming it all up.

“Um… ” His voice is dry and quiet. He clears his throat and tries again. “… Th-thank you…”

Ruby can feel her cheeks burn a little darker and she avoids his gaze. She hopes he doesn’t notice, least _he_ have something to say about her rosy cheeks, too.

“Yeah…” she mumbles, a little embarrassed despite having no reason to be.

People usually aren’t nice to her. Truth be told, she half expected him to not thank her at all, give her a weird look, take his glasses back, and run off without another word.

“Be more careful next time,” she says, maybe a little harsher than necessary, despite not meaning to sound that way at all.

Turning back towards the bully, who is now finally rising up to his feet, Ruby shoots more daggers at him and hunches her shoulders.

He staggers back, nearly tripping over his own two feet, before turning on heel and running off. Hopefully he’ll think twice about messing with anyone again. It’s doubtful, but Ruby can hope, at least.

She sends one more fleeting gaze back at Aasim before hurrying off.

He stands there, still dumbfounded, completely unaware of the secretive, shy smile that tugs at her lips.


	2. On My Mind Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They've known each other for years, but have barely spoken to each other, and when they have, it's been one awkward experience after another. Ruby wants to change that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a Tumblr prompt I wrote for a friend and I wanted to share it here, too. I wrote it back on March 29th 2019, originally, and have touched it up a little since then, but I'm not perfect so there may be a few spelling or grammatical errors that slipped through the cracks!
> 
> There honestly aren't enough Rusim fanfics out there, much less ones in Ruby's POV so here's this to make up for it.
> 
> Anyway, I'm actually super proud of these, and I hope that you all enjoy them!

Aasim never talks to anyone. He comes to school. He goes to class. He sits down. He does his work. He leaves.

Ruby isn’t sure if she’s ever seen him really interact with anyone, and it seems as if most people avoid him. They’ve been in classes together since they were little, and it amazes ruby that they’ve been around each other for so many years and have barely spoken a word to one another. Truth be told, the last actual conversation they’d had was back when they were five and she’d gotten his glasses back for him.

A thought crosses her mind that maybe he hasn’t really talked to her because he doesn’t like her. She wouldn’t blame him, of course. Their first meeting hadn’t exactly been the greatest one, and despite standing up for him and getting his glasses back, she hadn’t been very _smiley._ Come to think of it, maybe he thought that _she_ didn’t like _him._ The thought makes a frown form on her lips.

She swears she’s caught him looking at her before, but he’d always immediately look away and pretend like he hadn’t done anything.

She doesn’t know what to think; only that she doesn’t want _him_ thinking that she has any problem with him. She’s tried to talk to him in the past, but the conversations barely go anywhere before they’re going their own, separate ways.

Some of the things Aasim has blurted out to her during those _“conversations”_ leave her wondering if she should be offended or not. She’s let it all go, though. Aasim’s a weird guy, and maybe he hadn’t meant anything by them, anyway.

Violet’s brought up that maybe he’s intimated by her, and she’s not sure what’s worse.

Still. It would be nice to actually talk to him without any of the awkwardness. It would nice to start over.

He seemed so lonely. He could use a friend.

She doesn’t realize that she’s staring at him until she feels a sharp jab to her ribs. She jumps, attention turning to Violet, feeling her cheeks start to burn. She tries to ignore the look violet is giving her as the bell rings and their biology teacher moves to stand before the class.

Her curiosity grows when she hears him mention something about being paired up with someone. She figures that she could just pair up with Violet, as they usually did, but, much to her surprise, it seems that their teacher has his own plans. _He_ is going to be assigning partners, which she supposes is fine, just so long as she doesn’t end up with someone who won’t put in any effort.

"Ruby Buchanan, you’ll be working with… Aasim Taimoor.”

Now _that_ catches her attention.

Her gaze immediately darts over, only to lock onto Aasim’s as he does the same. She doesn’t look away even as their teacher goes on to add, “Your topic will be genetically modified organisms in food. Oh, that’s an interesting topic. Have fun with it.”

She almost misses what he says, just barely able to bring herself to look away from Aasim long enough to quickly jot the topic down.

The teacher's voice soon becomes a muffled blur to Ruby's ears as he continues to list off the other pairs until she finally hears him say, “Alright, pair up.”

As Ruby begins to gather up her things, she feels Violet nudge her again. The knowing grin that she’s met with makes her frown. It wouldn’t be the first time that Violet’s teased her about Aasim, and Ruby is almost positive that hell would freeze over before it would be the last.

“Have fun,” Violet says, then she’s walking over to her partner, Mitch. He’s a pain in the ass, but Ruby has to give him credit– he’s actually pretty decent when it comes to science, so maybe if he and Violet manage to _not_ kill each other first, they’ll get a passing grade.

Ruby will keep her fingers crossed for them.

Ruby continues to frown, obviously not amused, as she watches Violet go, before gathering up the rest of her belongings and making her way over to Aasim’s desk. The butterflies are ravaging her body in an instant, despite any attempts at trying to shove the nervous feelings down.

Ruby, despite her temper, has always considered herself to be a rather friendly person – at least in more recent years (there’s no denying what a _hellion_ she was as a small child) – but all of the bothersome thoughts ricocheting around in her head have her worried.

What if her assumptions are true? What if Aasim actually doesn’t like her? What if this project is going to be a nightmare for him?

By the time she’s standing next to his desk, she tries to shake the thoughts from her mind, striving to convey a convincing smile.

“Uh– _hi_ ,” she says.

“U-um– hey...”

He’s smiling, too, but if Ruby didn’t know any better, she’d swear that there was almost something _queasy_ to it. She just hopes that she's hiding her own nervousness better than he is– though that isn’t saying much.

She clears her throat.

“So… Uh… This project is gonna be somethin’, huh?”

Upon realizing that she’s still standing, she moves to sit next to him. Her skin bristles as their arms accidentally brush, and her cheeks turn a shade rosier.

Aasim’s body goes rigid, and neither of them will meet each other’s gaze.

Aasim busies himself with flipping through the pages of his biology book as he replies, “Uh… Yeah– totally–”

Okay… So, not really off to a great start. Ruby’s not sure what else she expected. Still, she tries again.

“So, um… Do you know anything about, uh, this…topic?”

She instantly hates how awkward she sounds.

She watches the way Aasim’s shoulders heave as he pauses in his page flipping. Her eyes trail over to the page. _‘ **GMO: genetically modified organisms** ,’_ is in bold print at the top.

He still isn’t looking at her as he shrugs and replies, “It’s basically just… organisms whose genes have been tampered with. And we just have to worry about food, so… it should be easy enough.”

Ruby nods to show that she’s listening, despite still being a little lost, and says, “I see… Well… we’ll probably hafta stop by the library to see what all we can find on it.”

“Mmhmm, yeah, probably.”

She really shouldn't be surprised that he isn't giving her much to work with, but Ruby presses on nonetheless.

“We could, uh, stop by the library after school and see what we can find,” she suggests, hopefully.

“Yeah, um, that’d be cool…”

He still isn’t looking at her.

Ruby tries not to frown. Is something wrong with the way she looks?

She tries to ignore the uncomfortable churning in her stomach as she, yet again, attempts to keep the conversation going.

“Okay, cool,” she says, letting a slight pause follow before she’s adding on, “And…if you’d like, after class we could walk to lunch together– to, um, discuss this project further.”

She hopes that he hadn’t caught onto her slightly rushed tack on at the end. If he had, he doesn’t make it obvious.

Instead, the suggestion is enough to finally make Aasim look up at her, wide-eyed and speechless for a few moments. She tries not to squirm under his stare.

“Really?” he asks, almost as if he’d positively stunned to hear such a suggestion directed towards him.

The uneasy feeling reeling inside her doesn’t fully subside until he finally says, “Well, um… Yeah, sure, I guess… I mean– yeah, that’d– that’d be nice.”

Truth be told, Ruby is much too shocked that he’d actually agreed to have lunch with her to even notice the way it had stumbled out of his mouth in damn near incoherence. It hardly matters _how_ he’d said it, anyway.

He’d actually looked at her, and sure, she’d basically had to pull it out of him, but he’d actually spoken to her. That thought alone is enough to give her some hope, at least.

It’s enough to actually make a smile tug at her lips as she replies, “Cool! I’m lookin’ forward to it.”


	3. Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby just wants to know what she and Aasim are. Is that too much to ask?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a Tumblr prompt I wrote for a friend and I wanted to share it here, too. I wrote it back on March 29th 2019, originally, and have touched it up a little since then, but I'm not perfect so there may be a few spelling or grammatical errors that slipped through the cracks!
> 
> There honestly aren't enough Rusim fanfics out there, much less ones in Ruby's POV so here's this to make up for it.
> 
> Anyway, I'm actually super proud of these, and I hope that you all enjoy them!

Ruby swore that if she had one more moment with Aasim interrupted, she was going to lose her mind.

Since coming over to stay for the week to get away from her parents for a while – telling said parents that she was staying with Clem over the winter break – she and Aasim had gotten a bit closer. They were already friends, they studied together quite frequently, and they hung out together in group settings, but the two had never experienced something quite as… _domestic_ as this.

Ruby had been staying in the guest bedroom, being sure to keep it very neat just so when Aasim’s mother finally came back from whatever business trip she was on she’d be none the wiser of Ruby having stayed over for a week.

Ruby woke up early, she prepared breakfast, and then she, Aasim and his little sister, Rahmi, would clean the dishes.

They played games, they watched TV and movies, Rahmi made sure to embarrass Aasim every chance she got, and even tried to show off one of Aasim’s journals before he’d stepped in and put a stop to it. Despite her curiosity, Ruby didn’t pry.

Ruby found that Aasim and Rahmi liked their food so spicy that it could burn a hole through the floor, so, while preparing dinner, she would have to keep a portion of the meal separate, just for herself. This only became an abundantly clear thing that she would have to do when Aasim had let her try some of his mother’s leftover curry. She swore that it burnt off every taste bud she had.

The one (and only) time she’d attempted to make dessert had ended up with no cookies being made and instead, a huge mess in the kitchen. The three of them ended up wearing most of the ingredients, and the stuff that wasn’t clinging to their persons was everywhere else.

Needless to say, they’d spent a good two hours getting the kitchen spotless again, with Ruby having to wear some of Aasim’s clothes that were, in all truthfulness, much too big for her.

And throughout all of these events, Ruby and Aasim had come close to kissing at least three times.

The first had been one of the nights they’d been preparing dinner together with the two of them standing so close that their shoulders were touching. They both went to reach for the same thing at the same time and their hands brushed. They locked eyes and like a gravitational pull, they were both leaning it. Aasim accidentally ended up burning his hand and pulled away.

The second time had been during some action film that Ruby had never even heard of. Aasim had insisted that it was good and that she would like it. Needless to say, it hadn’t done much to hold her attention. She was more lost than anything, asking Aasim so many questions about the film that she was surprised that she hadn’t driven him crazy yet.

Once again, their eyes met and they had both begun to lean in. A loud explosion from the movie caused Ruby to jump and pull back.

The third and final time was the while the two were in the kitchen cleaning up the cookie disaster.

Rahmi had ran off to go get some clean mop water, leaving the two alone. It should go without saying that it hadn’t taken long before the two were standing close once more.

Aasim made a teasing remark, Ruby gave him a playful shove, and her hand lingered against his shoulder.

She soon began her slow progression towards his face, him doing the same, when clattering tore through the kitchen.

Once again, the two were torn apart, both turning to stare in horror at the realization that Rahmi had just seen the two of them almost kiss.

The silence seemed to drag on forever before the younger girl spoke up.

“Should I leave you two alone, or…?”

“No!” Aasim had immediately blurted out. “It wasn’t– I mean– what you saw was–”

Rahmi cuts him off with a disbelieving look, and Aasim trails off pathetically.

Ruby’s had enough.

After recovering from the shock of being walked in on, her brows furrow together and she stares at Aasim. Upon feeling her eyes on him, Aasim hesitantly turns to meet her gaze.

“Aasim,” Ruby says with a sigh, hands moving to rest on her hips, “What’re we doin’?”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

That’s not the response she wants to hear.

“You _know_ what I mean.”

All Aasim has to do find the right words to say; those magical words that’ll make everything better; something to make everything nice and crystal clear. So, naturally, those words never come.

“I–I’m sorry, I–” he flails helplessly, “–I didn’t mean to–”

Ruby doesn’t give him time to finish before she’s marching out of the room.

She heads straight for the guest room, setting about gathering up her belongings, sloppily stuffing them into her bag in a hurry. The sooner she gets out of here the better.

She doesn’t get very far before she hears Aasim calling out to her.

“Wha–… What’re you doing…?”

Ruby pauses, straightens herself out, and turns to all but glare at him. He almost seems to shrink under her gaze.

“I’m leavin’,” she says, maybe a little too harshly. “Gonna go stay with Clem for the rest ‘a the week.”

“But…” Aasim, for whatever reason, simply cannot wrap his head around why she’d want to leave so suddenly. “…Why…?”

The question is enough to make Ruby scoff and throw her hands up. “Why do you _think?!_ ”

Aasim can be so exhausting to deal with sometimes. She wonders how she’s managed to do it for as long as she has.

But the heart wants what the heart wants.

She immediately regrets snapping at him the moment she sees him flinch back some, and her irritated expression softens slightly. Slowly, it starts to morph into something akin to exasperation.

How much more **OBVIOUS** did she need to be? Was she really going to have to **SPELL IT OUT FOR HIM?**

“I just–” she sighs, shaking her head. One hand moves to rest on her hip, the other lifting up to squeeze the bridge of her nose. “–I can’t keep doin’ this… this… _run around,_ alright?”

“Ruby, I…” Aasim’s gaze falls to the floor, frown etching its way onto his lips. “I’m sorry. I–”

“Please–” Ruby says quickly, cutting him off, “– _Please_ don’t start apologizin’. It’s fine.” It’s not fine. “I’ll just go, alright? Make things easier fer the both ‘a us.”

That makes Aasim’s gaze shoot right back up again, brows dipping down. He reminds Ruby of a kicked puppy.

“But I–… I don’t want…you to go…” His voice is so small, almost pathetic sounding, that Ruby almost doesn’t hear him.

Ruby sighs. _“Aasim…”_ She hates how small her own voice sounds now, borderline begging for him to just make this _easy_ for her; for him to just _let her go._ If he doesn’t like her in that way, he needs to just tell her. “I don’t–”

“I like you.”

The words are followed by a stunned silence on Ruby’s end. She can only blink wordlessly, mouth falling agape. She wants to say something, but no words are coming to her.

“I like you a lot, actually…” Aasim goes on to continue, stating it a bit more firmly. “And I have…for the longest time now. I just… never knew how to tell you–”

Ruby feels as if her heart is about to burst straight out of her chest, rosy cheeks steadily turning a darker shade of pink the more he goes on.

She can hear the pounding of her heart in her ears, can feel her insides twist and turn, and that’s when she silently steps forward and reaches for his face.

Before Aasim can finish his confession, she’s grasping his face between her hands and pulling him towards her while she lifts up on her tiptoes to meet him halfway.

She presses the sweetest of kisses to his lips.

“Took you long enough,” she teases after slowly pulling back, just enough to meet his own dazed gaze.

Aasim’s dopey smile is met with one of Ruby’s own before she’s leaning right back in for another kiss.


	4. Savin' It For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby and Aasim share a moment together after the events of escaping the Delta.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a Tumblr prompt I wrote for a friend and I wanted to share it here, too. I wrote it back on March 29th 2019, originally, and have touched it up a little since then, but I'm not perfect so there may be a few spelling or grammatical errors that slipped through the cracks!
> 
> There honestly aren't enough Rusim fanfics out there, much less ones in Ruby's POV so here's this to make up for it.
> 
> Anyway, I'm actually super proud of these, and I hope that you all enjoy them!

It all happened in a blur. The horse took off. Clementine and AJ had gotten left behind. The others arrived back at the school.

Ruby had been in the nurse’s office for what felt like forever treating everyone. Not that she minded, of course, despite how tiring it all could be at times.

Treating the other kids helped her feel like she had a sense of purpose, and being able to stay focused helped quell her nerves at the thought of where Clem, AJ, and Tenn were, and if they were safe.

Louis helped her lead Violet into the school, with Aasim and Omar close behind them.

She treated Violet first, and Louis insisted on staying until he got the news of whether or not Violet was okay.

She was… _for the most part._ Her eyes weren’t infected, and though her vision was incredibly poor now, she could still see a bit out of one of them. It could’ve been worse. Ruby was just glad that she was okay.

With finding out the good news about Violet, Louis helped her to the dorms so that she could get some shuteye and then announced that he was going to leave and search for Clem and the others.

After some assistance from Aasim, Omar was seated on one of the beds in the nurse’s office, where Ruby took a look at his leg.

“Well,” Ruby half-hums, “Looks like th’ bullet went straight through. Y’got pretty lucky.”

“I don’t _feel_ very lucky,” Omar laments, and Ruby clicks her tongue at him in response.

“Oh, c’mon now,” she insists, “It coulda been a lot worse. Yer lucky all I need t’ do is clean it up some. Oh– _Aasim,_ think y’could hand me a rag an’ disinfectant from over there?”

Aasim nods, and moves over to grab them. Ruby thanks him once they’re handed to her, and turns back to look at Omar.

“Now, this is gonna sting a li’l, but try not t’ move too much if y’can help it.”

Omar does as he’s told, and aside from a few hisses and twitches here and there, he’s mostly quiet and still.

“There y’go,” she says as she leans back to admire her work. “Cleaned an’ bandaged. Jus’ try not t’ put too much weight on it and y’should be fine.”

Omar nods, offering his thanks and carefully sliding off the bed with Aasim’s assistance.

“Here’s some medicine fer the pain,” Ruby says before he leaves, placing two small white pills in his hand. “Come back ‘n see me if you need to.”

Omar leaves, and then it’s just Aasim and Ruby.

She turns to look at him. He seems fine, but she still wants to look him over _just in case._

“Alright, yer turn,” she tells him, gesturing towards the bed.

“I’m alright,” he says, shaking his head and shrugging, “Really.”

“Still,” Ruby insists. “I’d feel better checkin’ you over, anyway.”

A moment of silence passes between them before Aasim inevitably caves and lets out a faint sigh.

“Alright.”

He moves over to the bed, sitting down, and shoving his hands into his jacket pockets as Ruby steps closer.

 _Too close._ His cheeks begin to sting despite himself willing them not to.

As she leans in to examine his face, he almost wants to lean away from her in embarrassment. By some miracle, he manages to stay put, and he can only hope that his expression isn’t betraying him.

If he _is_ noticeably blushing, or regarding her strangely, Ruby doesn’t say anything about it. Instead, she leans back some to glance over the rest of his body.

“Well, I don’t see anythin’,” she concludes, finally, taking a small step back. “You sure nothin’ hurts?”

It takes Aasim a moment to find his voice to respond. When he does, he hopes she doesn’t notice the way it cracks.

“No, I’m sure.” Ruby raises an eyebrow at him and he quickly adds, “I swear.”

“Well, alright,” she says, deciding not to push any further. “But if anythin’ starts botherin’ you, you’ll be sure t’ come tell me, right?”

“Y-yeah– yeah, of course.” he nods, watching the suspicion disappear from her face.

Another small silence settles between them, eye contact unwavering, as Ruby’s expression starts to soften.

After another moment, her gaze flits away from him, settling on something off to the side of them, but only vaguely.

Still, neither of them move, only Ruby crosses her arms over her chest as she becomes intent on tracing the outline of an old water stain on the far wall from them with her eyes.

Aasim doesn’t know if this is his cue to say something, or simply make his leave, so he just sits there dumbly.

Before he can actually decide on anything to do next, Ruby’s speaking, taking up all of his attention.

“Y’know… I really wasn’t sure if I was ever gonna see you again… When you got taken, an’ then when we all went down t’ th’ delta to save you an’ Violet, an’ Omar… I tried t’ stay hopeful ‘a course; tried t’ keep tellin’ myself that everythin’ was gonna be okay, but… I was still worried.”

Despite feeling Aasim boring holes into her face, Ruby still isn’t looking at him, still fixated on the water stain on the wall.

“Hell, th’ night before we came to rescue y’all, I tried t’ put a li’l somethin’ together t’ try t’ boost morale, but even then… All I kept thinkin’ about was whether or not y’all were okay… an’ then…” She can’t stop her rosy cheeks from growing darker, half-chuckle escaping her as she continues, “I jus’ kept thinkin’ about how you’d asked me t’ kiss you an’ how I’d hit you for it an’ how that might’a been the last time i woulda ever spoke t’ you.”

Originally, she hadn’t meant to drone on like this, but now that she was, she couldn’t stop.

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, _ideally_ I wouldn’t ‘a wanted t’ have my first kiss be in front ‘a everyone, much less jus’ ‘cos you were dared t’ ask me, but…afterwards, when I kept thinkin’ about it… I started t’ jus’… _regret it;_ not jus’ _kissin’ you.”_

Now she knows that she’s got to be blushing something fierce, but she still forces herself to continue.

“I guess… what my _point_ t’ all ‘a this is _supposed_ t’ be is jus'…–” Finally, she forces her eyes to trail back to Aasim’s very surprised, blushing face. “–I’m glad that i didn’t lose you.” She casts him a small, slightly nervous smile. “You’re… _too important.”_

When Aasim doesn’t say anything after more than a handful of seconds, gawking at her with his mouth hanging open, and cheeks beet red, Ruby contemplates taking back everything that she’d said.

“Are… Are y’gonna… _say anythin’…?”_ she finally asks, meekly, gaze dropping to the floor in embarrassment. “I’m… _sorry_ if anythin’ I said made you feel un–”

“N-no!”

The outburst makes Ruby’s head snap up to look at him.

Aasim’s face is still a deep red, but his expression looks more determined than shocked now.

“I mean… _no,_ it’s… _it’s alright._ I’m not uncomfortable or anything, I–… I’m glad I didn’t lose you either. You’re… _too important,_ too.”

Truthfully, he’s having a hard time believing that he just managed to say all that. He used to think that he’d never be able to sit here and be open about how he feels towards Ruby, but now that he is, well… He has to admit that it feels _nice._

Aasim’s words only make Ruby blush deeper, and she finds herself looking shyly away, unable to help herself.

“Oh…”

“And–” Ruby can hear the bed creak, and once again, her head snaps up. Aasim’s standing now, hands finally removing themselves from his pockets and beginning to gesture around as he speaks.

Sometimes she forgets just how much taller he is than her… And she can’t help but take notice of just how much closer they feel now.

“–I’m sorry about the dare thing. Not about… about _asking you,_ but– _how_ I asked. I mean– _yeah,_ I was dared to ask you, but… It’s… I-it’s not like I… _only_ asked because of a dare, I mean——” He’s flustering himself a little now, but he forces himself to press on, anyway. “–I mean, I probably never would’ve asked if Clem hadn’t dared me to, but– b-but only because I wouldn’t know _how.”_

Now it’s _Ruby’s_ turn to stare at him with her eyes wide, mouth agape, and fiercely flushed cheeks. Her mouth moves like she wants to say something; _anything,_ but nothing will come out except, finally, _“…What…?”_

Aasim knows he should probably stop while he’s ahead, but he can’t. He’s already said too much. He can’t go back. No matter how worked up he might be getting now, he knows that he needs to put it all out there while he still has a chance.

“I… _I like you, ruby…”_

And just like that, the words are out there, hanging between them, and Aasim isn’t sure if he feels a crushing weight off his shoulders or dread.

“I always have…for pretty much as long as can remember. I… I-I dunno _when,_ or _how_ it happened but… _I do._ Like, _really_ like you. I just…never knew how to tell you. I didn’t think I’d ever tell you. No time ever seemed to be right. But now… After everything that’s happened… After almost losing you and never having the chance to tell you how i really feel about you… Well– I don’t want to waste any more time keeping my feelings to myself. Even if you don’t feel the same way about me, even if…I’m just making a fool out of myself right now, I just wanted–”

_“Aasim.”_

He nearly jumps when he feels her hands grasping onto his. He can’t help the way he tenses up slightly, heart hammering in his chest. He feels like he might pass out at any given moment. So, he tries his best to calm himself down– though that’s easier said than done when all he can feel is electricity shooting from his fingertips and up his arms.

“Breathe,” Ruby says, despite the jittery feelings that keep wracking her own body.

Aasim does as he’s told, and Ruby finds herself smiling up at him. The smile, itself, is no longer a nervous one, even with all the goosebumps that liter her skin, and how her stomach is steadily tying itself into knots. She tries to follow her own advice, still trying to take it everything that Aasim’s told her, while also acknowledging her own feelings for him.

Finally, after much too long of standing there in silence she says, _“… I like you, too.”_

She’s not sure when the feelings had developed, either. Perhaps they had simply been there the entire time, and she’d never thought to act on them. Maybe it wasn’t until Aasim was ripped away from her that the realization of just how much he means to her finally hit her like a ton of bricks. Either way, the feelings are mutual.

“…You… _do…?”_

Aasim can’t stop the look of utter surprise from forming on his face. And suddenly his insides are on fire. Any crushing feelings of dread are gone, being replaced with something much lighter, and almost _disbelief._ He has half a mind to pinch himself… And he would, but that also meant letting go of Ruby’s hands and he was definitely _not_ about to do that. So instead, he gives her hands a gentle squeeze and the next thing he knows, he’s smiling like the biggest idiot on the planet.

“Why is that so hard to believe?” Ruby asks at last, brows raising in amusement.

“Well– because you’re… _you_ and I’m… _me,”_ Aasim replies, as if that clears it up.

Ruby actually laughs at that, light and airy, with maybe just a hint of left over nervousness.

“Y’know I could say th’ same thing about _you_ likin’ _me…”_ she points out, and playfully rolls her eyes as she says, “Amazin’ how you’re so _confident_ about _everythin’ else,_ and then there’s _this…”_

“Yeah, well… you– _you’re beautiful,_ but– I mean… Have you _seen_ me?”

Ruby pauses, and if it were at all possible, she’d be blushing even more at the compliment. She tries to ignore the mushy feeling in her gut as she looks at him thoughtfully.

“I have… An’ I think you have _nothin’_ t’ be insecure about. _Nothin’ at all.”_

Her thumbs gently brush over the backs of Aasim’s hands in reassurance.

Aasim’s goofy, yet bashful smile only grows at that, as does her own, and then he’s getting closer.

And _she’s_ getting closer.

When their lips meet, it’s nothing more than a featherlight touch, almost as if they’re just trying it out. That only lasts for a few moments, however, before they’re both leaning in further and proceeding to get hopelessly lost in one another.


	5. Take My Hand For A While

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby worries over Aasim whenever he's gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a Tumblr prompt I wrote for a friend and I wanted to share it here, too. I wrote it back on March 29th 2019, originally, and have touched it up a little since then, but I'm not perfect so there may be a few spelling or grammatical errors that slipped through the cracks!
> 
> There honestly aren't enough Rusim fanfics out there, much less ones in Ruby's POV so here's this to make up for it.
> 
> Anyway, I'm actually super proud of these, and I hope that you all enjoy them!

One thing that Ruby _hadn’t_ been prepared for when it came to _‘dating’_ someone was… _well–_ having to spend time apart. It was crazy how quickly she’d grown to wanting him around all the time. She supposed that it could be chocked up to the fact that he’d almost been taken from her before, and how absolutely _anything_ could happen to him out there.

She often tried to rationalize with herself, constantly having to remind herself that all he’s doing is going to check the rabbit traps with Louis and that they’ll both be back soon and unharmed.

The hunting grounds are relatively walker-free and safe and she knows this, but it’s never enough to quell her feelings of worry.

She’s taken up more watch shifts than she ever has before, and when she isn’t keeping watch, she lingers around the gate, constantly peering out, hoping to see him come strolling up at any moment.

She’s gone on more _‘patrols’_ with AJ than she’d care to admit, and the reason is more than blatantly obvious. _Everyone_ knows it, and she doesn’t even _care_ at this point.

At first, people teasing her about Aasim was annoying, and them giving her shit for waiting for him to return – like a wife waiting for her soldier to return home from war – made her want to knock their lights out, but she could hardly be bothered now.

No one could blame her, really. She had every right to worry. The world around them was dangerous. Anything could happen to him out there. A walker he didn’t spot, and heaven forbid it be a real, _live_ person.

If there’s one thing that Ruby’s been _quick_ to discover, it’s that the living were _way_ more dangerous than the dead.

If anything were to happen to Aasim out there, she didn’t know what she’d do with herself.

Everyday he left she feared that he’d never come back. Something would happen to him and she’d never see him again and she’d be burying _his_ things next.

She’d already lost too many people. She couldn’t lose Aasim, too. That would truly be enough to do her in.

She cared about him too much. She always had, of course, but now that things were _official_ between them, that feeling had only intensified.

So she would continue to linger around the front of the school, pacing back and forth until she heard a noise. Footsteps. Voices. _Bickering._ Then she’d waste absolutely no time in rushing past the gates and watching as the moment Aasim spotted her, him running up to meet her with a rabbit or two slung over his shoulder.

His eagerness to be by her side never failed to make Ruby’s heart flutter and the biggest, beaming smile form on her lips.

“Nice t’ see you back in one piece,” she’d say. “How’d it go today? Managed not t’ kill each other, I see. _That’s good.”_

Then either one of them would reach for the other’s hand and they’d make their trek back up to the gates, stealing not so subtle glances at one another, and Ruby being more than content in listening as Aasim goes on to tell her about what his hunting experience was like that day.

He usually has something to say about Louis, but he’ll just be right back at grinning over at Ruby almost immediately after grumbling about him.

Ruby always finds herself grinning ever so brightly back at him.


End file.
